Jan Rutta signed his first NHL contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in June of 2017, and made the team out of training camp as a 27-year-old rookie.

He had spent his entire career in the Czech Republic until the Hawks picked him up, and his game has translated to NHL ice very nicely so far. He has shown great poise with the puck and has been steady in his own end.

In case you needed a reminder of the Blackhawks' ingenious scouting team, Rutta is a perfect example of a player who seemingly came out of nowhere, but Chicago’s scouts clearly saw him as being ready to make the jump. It is pretty uncommon for a player to come over from Europe in his mid-late 20’s and have an immediate impact for an NHL team with no prior North American pro experience.

Look for Rutta to help stabilize an aging blue line on a Chicago team that will have a lot of question marks over the next few years.